Livestock

Farm Animals

Farm animals are very popular with owners of small properties, whether you have a goat to keep the grass down or your kids have talked you in to having a pet pig.

There are council regulations and state legal requirements you must comply with if you own a farm animal.

The first thing you must do when you are looking to own cattle (cows), sheep, pigs, goats, alpacas, llamas, horses, deer or more than 100 poultry is apply for a Livestock Property Identification Code (PIC).  

PICs are free and easy to obtain through the Department of Economic Development’s Livestock PICs website page.

PICs are important in the event of a serious livestock disease outbreak. They allow for the tracing of animals to detect where an outbreak may have started and to help control and eradicate disease.  PICs are also linked to systems such as the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) and commercial operators will need a PIC to sell and move animals.

To find out more about PICS and to obtain yours, visit the Livestock PICs website page.

Feeding food scraps to pigs can be dangerous

Feeding food waste to pigs, known as swill feeding, poses a huge risk for the entry and spread of devastating animal diseases into Australia. Swill feeding was the route by which infection was introduced to the UK causing the devastating 2001 outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease.

Food waste containing meat, other animal by-products, some dairy products and any food that has come into contact with these prohibited foods must not be fed to pigs. Some examples of food that must not be provided to pigs includes:

• meat, meat products and some dairy products including butter, cheese and yoghurt
• vegetables, rice, pasta and any other food that has been in direct contact with meat
• pizza bun rolls, meat pies
• bacon and cheese rolls, salad rolls containing meat
• Caesar salad (because it contains bacon pieces)
• steak, hamburgers, sausages and  butcher’s shop waste

If in doubt about the suitability of any food, do not feed it to your animals.

For the health of your pigs it is best to have a planned diet. There are specific feeds available that are designed to meet the nutritional needs of pigs and keep them in the best condition. 

A range of information on pig health and welfare information is available from the Department of Economic Development, this includes the specifics on prohibited pigs feeds, please visit pig health.